Revelation 16:1 - 7

The Seven Bowls

1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.”

We know from the last study, no one but God was allowed in the temple at this time, this order comes from God the Father.

First Bowl: Loathsome Sores

2 So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

The Roman-Catholic Empire was feeling the immediate effects of the Reformation, this is the wrath which filled the first bowl. The leadership of the Roman-Catholic empire was seeing their places of authority disappearing and being torn down by the people who now have God's word in their hands and see the falsehoods which had been fed them for the entire Dark Ages, (1260 years) this was felt by everyone who believed in the falsehoods and deceptive leaders of the empire called the beast.

Second Bowl: The Sea Turns to Blood

3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

The blood of a person after they die, dies also and becomes poisonous. It kills what it comes in contact with it. The blood of Christ was dead when it poured out, it killed all of the sins of the world which it can come in contact with.

Third Bowl: The Waters Turn to Blood

4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying:

“You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.”

7 And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

All of these items, the rivers and the springs show the completeness of God's wrath against evil men.

The angel of the waters is the third angel who had just poured his bowl onto the rivers and springs. Since all of the angels, the seven, were serving as a unit, what this angel says goes for all seven.

The angel commends the action of the Lord for his righteous pronouncement of the judgments he has served upon the wicked servants of the Roman-Catholic empire. His statement includes the description of the Lord as having no beginning and no end, He is eternal in nature. He is a being who is described in the scriptures as being the same from beginning and forever. He is described as being only of truth and no lies will come from Him. Because of God's makeup He cannot give out sentences or judgments which are false or wrong.

This part is literal, “they have shed the blood of saints and prophets” both the Pagan Roman empire and the Papal Roman-Catholic empire killed many of God's righteous followers.

Giving them blood to drink is figurative for the legal executions which were imposed on the wicked.

In the final verse, another angel commends God for the righteous sentences handed out by God to the wicked